While preliminary enrollment figures are behind the same time last year, College President Dr. Cheryl Sparks believes that when final numbers are in, this could mark a record year for the college.

Sparks said that, as of Tuesday morning, 3,158 students were enrolled at Howard's four campuses, compared to 3,448 the same time last year.

But Sparks said a big enrollment bump should be forthcoming in the next few days, when San Angelo ISD students begin registering for concurrent courses at Howard's campus there.

“Right now, we're down from last year, but the reality is that I know for a fact that we will be up,” Sparks said. “We're expecting another 500 students to enroll at San Angelo.”

Tuesday's enrollment figures break down this way (September 2007 enrollment is in parenthesis):

If Howard receives the expected 500-student boost at San Angelo, it would mark a record enrollment for the district, which is very welcome news to officials.

“Our goal all along was to see an increase in enrollment,” Sparks said. “That's why we are pleased with the way things are coming together at this time.”

Sparks said Howard enrollment has been trending upwards the past several years and concurrent courses — which allow students to enroll in college classes while still attending high school — have been the major engine driving that increase.

“Enrollment at the San Angelo campus has been growing at a great rate of speed the past few years and that's directly related to (concurrent) enrollment,” Sparks said.

Howard College offers concurrent courses to each high school in its 13-county service area and Sparks believes they have a benefit greater than just padding the district's enrollment figures.

“In the past, high school students may have taken a college course at night or during the summer, or simply waited until they began college,” she said. “Concurrent courses encourage students to participate in higher education and gives them the confidence that this is something they can tackle ... I wish we had had these kind of courses when I was in high school.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it